Conquering His Cold Heart

Frost didn't take too much part in the meeting other than enlightening the some of the reinforcements on how the battles went down over the past few days. He spoke of many brave souls that gave their lives in the battle, Halgrave being one of them.

General Anya couldn't help but clench her fists in frustration as she listened, Halgrave was a loyal soldier in her battalion, to lose him here was a devastating loss.

The crown prince tried to speak with him a couple times, but their conversations were always rather brief, seems they didn't mesh well. Frost even felt that Randolph carried some sort of grudge towards him, it was well hidden, but his gut was warning him to be wary.

According to the original timescale the reinforcements weren't supposed to arrive until the morning of the 4th day but thanks to the trepidation felt by both General Anya and General Warik as well as the crown princes desire for glory they arrived during the afternoon of the third day, a lifesaving result for Frost and the others defending the town.

So even though he didn't exactly get a good feeling from Randolph he was grateful for his timely arrival.

The meeting was brought to an end after an hour or so with all the procedures being outlined. Afterwards Frost finally went to rest, his job and the job of the soldiers and adventurers was over, they could now have some well-earned rest.

Given that the stampede was practically over, there was no need for him to sleep in the barracks near the northern wall anymore thus Cassandra offered a guest room in the lord's manor which Frost accepted gladly.

A servant of the manor attended to him, preparing the room, spare clothes, food requests and the bath for his convenience. Frost was tired, physically, mentally and emotionally so he just let the servant handle everything.

First, he took a long dip in a hot bath, allowing all his pores to open up and remove any lasting bits of grime on his body that clean up magic didn't get. Afterwards he went straight to his room and fell asleep almost instantly. The servant came to check on him an hour later to see if he was hungry but quickly left after seeing Frost completely out of it.

16 hours later Frost roused himself from his sleep, the previous day had ended, and it was already the morning of the next. He'd never slept so much at one time before, but he didn't feel groggy or out of sorts, it was clear that he needed a good rest to fully recharge.

His back and shoulders popped and cracked as he stretched but all he felt was relief, his body and mind once again in peak health.

"The sun's up so its been at least one day." Frost covered his eyes from the sun that shone brightly through a crack in the curtains. He rang a bell and the servant that helped him yesterday promptly arrived with a smile on his face, eager to serve Frost in any capacity.

"How long was I out and has anything major happened?" He asked as the servant guided him to the dining room for some food.

"It's been about 16 hours Sir Frost, and no I don't think anything major has happened during your rest. The Madam and young master returned once or twice and asked how you were but swiftly returned to work after hearing you were still asleep." The servant answered Frost's question dutifully.

"I see thank you."

"No problem, Sir and if anything, I should be thanking you. Without you we would have surely been overrun and slaughtered by the stampede. You have my upmost thanks for protecting our home and people." The servant performed a deep bow and tears dripped down his cheeks.

Frost felt rather awkward but had grown used such reactions, so he simply nodded his head and patted the servant's shoulder before continuing to the dining room where a meal was being prepared for him.

"Is there any update on Douglas's and the others' conditions?" Frost asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"The Lord Viscount has woken up I'm told but is still in the intensive care unit, same with Colonel Hamon, Sir Vaccos and Sir Ryuu." A servant who was responsible for gathering information replied to Frost as he ate. The staff liked to be kept abreast of the ongoing situation and surmised that Frost would ask them about it the moment he woke up.

"And Bastion?" Frost asked clearly more nervous that before.

"…Sir Bastion has regained consciousness however his strength has left him almost entirely." The servant spoke with sadness. "He has unfortunately lost the function of his left leg and his arms are no longer able to wield his axe." His life had been saved but his adventurer days were over. His possible life expectancy had even been reduced due to the damage inflicted upon his organs.

A miracle herb would be required to restore Bastion to complete functionality.

Frost frowned and clenched his fists as he listened, his heart hurting from the sad fate of his once powerful friend. He looked upwards, his eyes growing red as he fought back some tears.

'War even if victorious comes with devasting consequences.' Frost shook his head and chose not to lament on the situation, Bastion was alive that's what mattered.

As Frost was finishing his meal the door to the dining room opened revealing Cassandra and Luna with heavy bags under their eyes however they lit up upon seeing Frost, even running to his side to give him a hug.

"Have you just woken up?"

"Yes."

"Did you sleep well, any aches, wounds or anything?" Cassandra badgered like a concerned mother.

"Yes and No, I'm fit as a fiddle." Frost tensed his arms as if to show his impressive strength, garnering a laugh from the two women.

"Do you know about the outside situation?"

"I just asked the servants about everyone's condition, seems everyone is alive at least but Bastion may be disabled." Cassandra and Luna's eyes darkened upon being reminded of Bastion's condition.

"Yes unfortunately that's true in fact all of them will likely no longer be able to use their full strength again….their fighting days are over." Cassandra said the last part with an awkward tone. Happy in a way that her loved ones wouldn't be able to launch themselves into danger anymore but sad that they couldn't at the same time, they all prided themselves on their acquired strength after all.

"I see."

"…Well ignoring the obvious downers we've started tabulating the possible revenue to be made thanks to the stampede as well as started calculating the rewards for the many adventurers, yourself included." Cassandra tried to shift to a more positive outcome.

"Ohhh" Frost raised his brow, clearly interested. Other than helping his friends and relishing in glorious DP -which actually amounted to several tens of thousands over the few days he was here- money was another reason. He needed vast amounts of coins to establish a properly functioning camp plus they could be transmuted into DP if need be.

"We've also decided on when to hold the grand victory celebration, a final hoorah to erase the negative atmosphere brought on by the war. Everyone is invited, soldier, adventurer, support staff and civilian alike. Together we'll celebrate surviving the stampede as one. There'll be fireworks, food, dancing and tons of other activities, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

'A party huh.' Frost pondered the idea in his mind before smiling, growing excited at the prospect. A victory celebration was sure to be fun.

"When is it?" If it wasn't for another week or so he'd have to decline, Maya and the kids were waiting after all.

"Tomorrow night, Leo will be acting as the host in place of Douglas. It should be a good test for him since he's set to inherit the Viscounty." Douglas would normally be the host given that he was still the ruler, but his current condition made that almost impossible.

He may be out of bed by then, but he'd have to go around and mingle all night, far too strenuous for a critically hurt patient like him.

Frost was surprised he thought for sure it'd be a bit later given the injured but then again it did make sense to have it as soon as possible. Once the celebration happens the war would be officially over, and the people can confidently return to their regular lives and work.

"Sounds fantastic I'll be there."

"Great."

The three people then chatted some more as two meals were brought for the ladies. Frost was in no hurry at the moment to do anything so he kept them company while they were on break which was unfortunately rather short. Not twenty minutes in a servant came and whispered something in Cassandra's ears causing her to frown and shake her head before leaving with Luna who hadn't finished eating yet.

"Guess I'll head out and see if Leo or the guild needs any help." Frost said with a smile however a subtle agenda was also hidden behind that smile. It was time to start laying the breadcrumbs for his future camp. He'd already hallmarked Borris and would likely visit him sometime later today or perhaps tomorrow to land the final nail in the coffin but there were others he needed as well. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

The merchant guild, bank, adventurer's guild and perhaps even inns. The more worthy people he got the more DP he'd be able to rake in passively and the faster he'd be able to establish a proper economy.

With his plans set in motion Frost first headed to the government district to discuss possible avenues with Leo and the admin staff there.